3 Quarters Mafia
by Orihara Izaya
Summary: Gokudera, the workaholic guardian, hates summer; it's the season all the others neglect their work. But, when memories from his teens come back after the sudden visit of and old friend, he realized that he, too, desired some time for himself. 59OC
1. Target 1

Summer; a season loved by many. When you say summer you think of sun, beaches, free time love maybe, but to a young mafioso, locked up in his study by his own will, summer was the most bothersome season of all. Everyone's head was in the clouds and all of them were thirsty for some free time, _except_ for him. They had work to do, papers to sign, documents to go through. He was the right hand man of the honored Vongola boss, he had to live up to his expectations; though, the stated boss had encouraged him to take some days off repeatedly.

To him, Gokudera Hayato, his work was his pride. He was the trusted right hand man; a position he worked hard to achieve and worked even harder to maintain. Hone your skills, train your brain, be loyal; that could also be his motto let alone his life philosophy. So, when Yamamoto Takeshi entered into his friend's study that morning, the young mafioso let a loud grunt to show his annoyance. Yamamoto laughed wholeheartedly; he was used to his friend's bad mood so he didn't take it personally.

"And I hoped that you would smile this once, try it from time to time, it feels good," Yamamoto teased.  
>"Good morning," Gokudera said, like he was forced to, and turned back to his documents. "How can I help you?"<br>"How cold," Yamamoto laughed. "You are in a really bad mood today from what I can see."  
>"Of course I am!" Gokudera snapped. "Everyone idles around, I have to make sure that all of you are doing your job properly."<br>"Don't worry, we wouldn't want to burden you, would we?"  
>"Says the one you didn't submit his report last night, thus I had to go around searching for him," Gokudera scowled.<br>"I was going to submit it today," Yamamoto said shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't expect that you will be so angry with me even today."  
>"I'm not angry. I'm disappointed. I expect a token of responsibility from grown adults, once in a while at least."<br>"Tsuna is right, you _do_ need a break. You are acingt like a grumpy old geezer, although we are the same age."  
>"Tenth, it's Tenth!"<br>"Tenth-Tsuna whatever, it doesn't change the fact that he said that. He is worried about you, you know," Yamamoto said crossing his hands.  
>"I had no intention to make Tenth worried," the storm guardian said, finally turning to face Yamamoto. "I have to apologize later."<p>

Yamamoto made a face, his friend was indeed a workaholic to the bone, but he had started to believe that he was a simpleton as well. When someone expresses his worry because you are overworking your self, isn't it natural to stop or at least cut down the hours you are working? Especially if the one who expresses his worry isn't only your friend, but your boss as well. Even for Yamamoto, that was called common sense; you don't just apologize and then continue doing so.

"Never mind, forget that. I think that I have some good news for you," Yamamoto said with a smile.  
>"Which are..."<br>"Dino is going to visit us today, actually any minute now."

"What?" Gokudera jumped from his seat. "Have we done the proper arrangements? Is Tenth informed about that? When did he set up the appointment? I'm _not_ informed about this," he said anxiously, browsing through the papers on his desk.  
>"Ow, hold your horses," Yamamoto said surprised. "Dino is a friend. He doesn't really need an appointment beforehand. It was supposed to be a surprise. Tsuna is really happy for his visit actually. Also, Dino plans to stay here for at least a week from what I know. Tsuna made the arrangements himself," he assured him.<p>

Though, Gokudera himself would never admit it, his stress was in bad state, so were his nerves. Yamamoto knew that his friend was searching for the most insignificant excuse to throw a tantrum; it was his way to release his tension, much to Yamamoto's displease since he was an easy target for that. The silver-haired mafioso fell back into his chair and took out his cigarettes. He felt the need for a smoke after so many hours of work, the bitter taste he was enjoying for many years was calming him down at times like those.

"You should really kick this habit of yours," Yamamoto advised.  
>"Oh, shut up," Gokudera said exhaling some smoke. "So, in what aspect are these good news?"<br>"Well, someone you know is coming along. Guess who."  
>"Yamamoto..." Gokudera said in a demanding manner.<br>"Ok-ok. It starts with A...!"  
>"<strong>A<strong>sshole.."  
>"That's not-HEY!"<br>"You asked for it."  
>"It's A<em>kira<em>, it was an easy guess," Yamamoto said disappointed.  
>"Akira, who?" he asked but then froze for a moment. "Hold on, you mean..."<br>"Oh, so now you get it," Yamamoto said with a sly smile.  
>"You are kidding," Gokudera said with his eyes rolled.<p>

Yamamoto arched an eyebrow; it seemed that he was finally able to catch his friend's attention. Gokudera put out his cigarette on his ashtray and stood up. The rain guardian chuckled; his friend was a romanticist after all. Even after so many years, many attempts to get in a relationship and after going through a few unsuccessful ones who didn't last very long, mostly because of his work frenzy, he was still interested in his childhood crush.

"What do you mean?" Gokudera asked. "So, does this mean that Hibari has finally calmed down?"  
>"Oh, so you were informed about the whole situation!" Yamamoto teased.<br>"Why wouldn't I when _you_ are?" Gokudera answered back, annoyed by Yamamoto's comment. "It's not like it was a secret anyway."

Yamamoto couldn't help but laugh at his friend's behavior. The truth was that four years ago, his friend couldn't hide his surprise when, after a fight, the cloud guardian decided to send his little sister to study in Italy. Hibari's ties with both Vongola and Chiavarone had come in handy, since it was easy to rush the whole procedure and so his sister hadn't set foot on Japan for years. However, unable to figure out his friend, he hadn't asked him anything about his unusual behavior back then.

Gokudera had met the little devil when he was in middle school. She was younger than them and for the young, hot-tempered mafioso she was nothing but a bother at first. Yamamoto didn't know the details, but Gokudera had started to be friendlier and softer towards her at some point. Oddly, he had realized that the young, back then, Hayato had expressed some interest towards the little girl. He could also recall Shamal saying that he didn't need to worry about his pupil because he had shown some signs of manhood, a comment which made Yamamoto chuckle even up to those days.

"Did you see her?" Gokudera asked trying to act to indifferent.

His friend was an open book, even as he was asking that, he was running his finger-tips nervously along his desk's smooth surface; able to recognize his friend's habits Yamamoto was aware that not only was he interested to know more but for some reason he wasn't confident enough to ask for more directly. Gokudera was fidgeting and it was much more obvious than he thought it was, his attempt to put on a cool act was a failure. Trying to be sensitive, Yamamoto refrained himself from doing an unnecessary comment.

"No, not yet. But, she should be here by now. Lambo said that she would come along with her brother and Dino."  
>"Lambo?"<br>"Yes, it seems that he hadn't lost contact with her even after all those years."

Apparently, Yamamoto was unaware of what had brought them close since back then he didn't pay much attention to things like that. However he was also unaware of what had moved them apart away as well and thus he was unable to read the situation his companion was in. If he had to guess, he'd say that it could be adolescence, work, lack of communication maybe. Gokudera was a tricky person; that much he knew. Though he didn't give the impression of a shy one, he could be more bashful than a highschool girl depending on the situation.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to tag along. I'm about to go and greet them," Yamamoto said resting his back on the wall.

Gokudera's study had one of the best views in the mansion, but Yamamoto doubted that his friend was sparing some time to enjoy the pleasant sight of the yard, regardless the season. Tsuna, accompanied by Kyoko, was waiting there for his visitors while savoring his morning coffee. That would definitely turn into a family gathering; which was always welcomed by Tsuna. At that time, Yamamoto ignored his friend nervous mumbling, feeling relaxed by the beautiful view.

The quiet atmosphere wafting around was soon replaced by cheerful voices. Tsuna was the first one to stand up with a big heartwarming and welcoming smile. Dino, who was accompanied by Romario and a few of his men, waved from afar striding over the colorful flower beds and when he finally reached Tsuna he pulled him into a hug. Their laughs made their way to Gokudera's study. Yamamoto smiled; in quiet times, moments like that one were treasured by the whole family.

His eyebrows arched when he felt his friend fidgeting beside him. It seemed that his curiosity did not allow him to stay away from the window for more than a few minutes. Gokudera was scanning the area like a hawk; at that point Yamamoto wasn't able to hold his laugh back. He wasn't able to refrain his emotions easily anyway, one more time wouldn't hurt, next time he would try harder, he promised that to himself; a promise he would forget few minutes later.

"What's so funny?" Gokudera expressed his irritation.  
>"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Yamamoto said holding his belly. "Man, you are too much."<br>"Che, grow up," Gokudera said with his nose up high, trying to act cool.  
>"So, are you going to accompany me?" Yamamoto asked. "You are Tsuna's right hand man after all, shouldn't you be by his side at every occasion?"<br>"Of course!"  
>"Let's go then," Yamamoto said heading for the door. "We shouldn't make them wait."<br>"Do..."  
>"Hmm?"<br>"Do I look good?" Gokudera asked tidying up his hair.

Yamamoto covered his mouth, his eyes rolled as he not to laugh in front of him, but in the end he let out a loud laughter. Gokudera flushed by his friend reaction; he was laughing at him so openly that it was, at least, humiliating from his point of view. With his head lowered, he made a few big steps and passed by Yamamoto.

"What's so funny again, you idiot?" he asked, not looking at him.  
>"I'm sorry. It's just... It was so out of your character... <em>You<em>, caring about appearance..."  
>"I <em>do<em> care about my appearance, it's not like I asked because we have visitors today," he argued.  
>"Sure-sure," Yamamoto said chuckling. "Well, as Shamal says; Men are hunters, they must be ready for their prey at any time."<br>"I'm not out to hunt though," Gokudera replied calmly.  
>"As Haru says then; Be confident!"<p>

Gokudera sighed, his was used to his friend's talkative nature, but that didn't mean that it wasn't annoying him from time to time. But then again, Gokudera was getting annoyed easily, especially after pulling all-nighters, so Yamamoto wasn't bothered by his friend's expression of discontent. They had learned to put up with each others' whims and habits through years.

"What's up?" Yamamoto asked noticing that Gokudera's gait was slowing down.  
>"Nothing," Gokudera retorted.<p>

'Sure, nothing. You are obviously nervous,' Yamamoto said inwordy. 'Aren't you a worrier, Hayato?'

"Hey! Tsuna, Dino!" Yamamoto greeted from afar.  
>"You are too loud, you idiot. Don't try to make an entrance!" Gokudera said elbowing him in his rib.<p>

"Sorry," he mumbled.  
>"Yamamoto! Gokudera!" Dino returned the greet. "Long time not to see!"<p>

After the typical greetings, they sat on the table where coffee and tea was already served, engaging in a random conversation about their news and every day lives. Tsuna and Dino, being both bosses of their families, couldn't help but raise a topic about mafia's news and provocative dealings by other families which had made them feel uneasy about their outcome; a conversation that was usually welcomed by the silver haired mafioso, not to mention his favorite topic.

"So, speaking about our family... I thought that Hibari was going to come along with you today..." Gokudera brought up.  
>"I didn't know that you were in good terms, I thought it was the opposite," Dino laughed.<p>

'So frank,' Tsuna and Yamamoto thought in unison.

"Did you actually miss him?"  
>"I'm asking out of pure professional interest," Gokudera rejoined. "But, despite that fact that he will have to submit a report, he is still part of the family. As a fellow guardian, I have to express some concern from time to time, even for mere formalities."<br>"I see-I see," Dino laughed again. "He is already here actually, but he preferred to retire to his room for now."  
>"Typical of him," Gokudera commented.<br>"He must be exhausted from his trip, he insisted to accompany his sister after all," Tsuna said with a smile.  
>"I wish he would trust me a bit more, it's like he considers me, hence the whole Chiavarone family, incapable of protecting his sister."<br>"Speaking of that, Kyoko escorted Akira to her room. I guess they will come back by any minute," Tsuna said taking a look at his watch.  
>"Oh, actually, here they are!" Dino said. "Akira!" he called waving.<p>

That resulted to two spilled cups of coffee on the table, a broken plate and a big stain on Yamamoto's trousers. Chiavarone family's boss was as clumsy as ever without his subordinates around. Tsuna assured Dino with a nervous smile on his face that it wasn't a bid deal and that he didn't have to apologize. Yamamoto just laughed it off and tried to blot the area dry with a napkin, while Gokudera just snorted.

"What happened?" Kyoko asked.  
>"It's nothing, don't worry," Tsuna reassured her. "Did you put your things away?" he asked the girl beside Kyoko.<br>"Yes sir," she replied.  
>"No need for formalities," Tsuna laughed. "Call me Tsuna, like in the past."<br>"Thank you," she said.  
>"She is very polite when she wants, isn't she?" Dino asked taping her head while Tsuna was waving the idea that she heard her mumbling something.<br>"You haven't greeted Gokudera and Yamamoto yet, have you?" he asked gesturing towards his friend.  
>"Hello Akira, I haven't seen you in year, you've changed a lot," Yamamoto said.<br>"Pleased to meet you again too!" Gokudera said, suddenly standing up and then bowed.

However, the way he stood up was so clumsy that he pulled the tablecloth along with him; naturally, the mess he caused was much worse than the one Dino had caused beforehand. That was the final hit for Yamamoto, he turned his back to the others and sniggered, his face had turn red from the effort to hold his laughter so many times in a row. At the same time Gokudera's face had changed many shades of red due to his embarrassment. Avoiding eye contact, he tried to pick up everything quickly; he had managed to embarrass himself in front of everyone.

"Yamamoto..." Tsuna scowled.  
>"I'm sorry... I'm really so... honestly... sorry... Tsuna," Yamamoto said trying to regain his composure.<br>"You don't look like your are trying much to show how sorry you are though," Tsuna sighed.

"Glad to meet you too," Akira finally said.

Gokudera just nodded, not daring to look up, and kept picking up the pieces of the broken china. He noted that he should deduct their worth from his salary. In an awkward attempt to change the atmosphere, everyone started to pick up the broken pieces, even Tsuna didn't try to stop them and went along.

"How did you manage to get breadcrumbs on your hair?"

The young woman was scolding the Chiavarone family boss while she was trying to remove the breadcrumbs. Dino replied with a nervous smile, he was used to everyone's reprimands and didn't seem to mind at all. Gokudera's ear twitched and he turn his attention - as discreetly as he could - towards them.

"They seem to get along, right?" Yamamoto whispered behind him, much like the devil.  
>"Who cares about that?" Gokudera replied and tried to turn his attention to the broken china yet again.<br>"I wonder if Hibari has already approved of him," Yamamoto said in a carefree way.  
>"WHAT?"<p>

Everyone's attention turned to him. Gokudera realized quickly that he had overreacted when he faced their surprised faces. Unable to say something smart, he just smiled nervously hoping that they will let it pass by.

"Something happened?" Tsuna asked.  
>"No, Tenth... I just..."<p>

"I was just teasing him a bit, pay no mind," Yamamoto interfered and Tsuna just nodded.  
>"What?" Gokudera whispered now.<br>"I was just joking," Yamamoto laughed. "But I thought that _nobody_ cares."

"Well, as I said, it's not that I care. But that would be big news for the family, right?"  
>"I guess..." Yamamoto said averting his gaze.<br>"So, do you know something about that? I mean... their relationship," he said without enthusiasm.  
>"Well... no... but since they seem to get along together, maybe I should put a good word for Dino to Hibari."<br>"Why would you do that when you don't even know what kind of relationship they have?" Gokudera protested.  
>"Why not?" Yamamoto insisted. "It will be great for both families, right? Let's help them together."<br>"Wha- I'm not going to get my self involved in something so stupid. Do I look like cupid to you?" Gokudera refused looking away. "I don't think that they suit each other anyway," he added in a lower tone.  
>"Oh... Let's see..." Yamamoto said pretending that the was thinking about it. "Maybe someone cares after all," he said hustling him.<br>"Wha- Nonsense!"  
>"You rascal-"<br>"Hey, stop hustling me! Don't treat me like a child! What are you, a twelve-years-old?"  
>"What's wrong with you guys today?"<p>

Gokudera looked alarmed; he hadn't sensed his boss while he was approaching them. Tsuna had crawled up to them, letting Kyoko behind. His childhood friends were acting strange that day and curious to know what was going on, he couldn't help but try to pry into their conversation. The young boss was feeling left out; during years, he always felt that - because of his position - his friends were avoiding to bring up some of their personal matters in front of him.

"Gokudera and uhm..."

Gokudera has managed to cover Yamamoto's mouth before the rain guardian manages to complete the sentence with his singing voice. Tsuna looked at both of them confused, since he could not understand if the whole scene concerned a serious matter or not. Yamamoto seemed to enjoy the situation a lot, while Gokudera, feeling obviously uneasy, was trying to assure him that Yamamoto was just talking gibberish.

"I see..." Tsuna looked thoughtful. "Gokudera, if you-"  
>"Tsu-kun..." Kyoko called.<br>"I'm coming," Tsuna said sighing and stood up. "I'll see you later guys."  
>"Sure, Tenth," Gokudera stammered.<br>"Is it really that bad to confess that you are actually interested in her in front of Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.  
>"Of course it is, it would be embarrassing!"<p>

"So, you_ are_ interested in her," Yamamoto grinned.  
>"I didn't say that! I just..." he hemmed and hawed. "I was just say- Oh, nevermind. You won," Gokudera lowered his head in defeat, crossing his hands stubbornly at the same time. "I am a little interested in her-<em> just<em> a little!"

"Gokudera..." Yamamoto said hustling him slightly. "You ras-"  
>"Stop saying that!" Gokudera barked, hustling Yamamoto back as hard as he could. "Gosh, you are annoying."<p>

The rain guardian laughed kindly; he was happy to see that his friend was acting like the old times. For Gokudera, for Tsuna, for him, their time spent as friends, like young men without care, away from their usual daily routine as part of Mafia, was precious. Thus, he didn't considered those moments, even if they were composed of meaningless conversations and teasing, embarrassing to the list,

The rest of the company excused themselves leaving them behind. Still on the ground, Gokudera hugged his knees to his chest. His eyes followed the young woman whom he hadn't dared to look in the eyes few minutes before due to his lack of confidence after the mess he had caused. She was taller and her hair black hair were still long, but other than that, she looked like a stranger.

"Yamamoto..." he said taking out his cigarettes. "Do you think that I have a chance?"  
>"Aren't you the lovely Casanova of the Vongola family no woman can resist?" Yamamoto asked.<br>"I thought that was Lambo," Gokudera chuckled.  
>"Ah, right! You are the workaholic who hasn't scored points with a woman since... like forever?"<br>"Hey!"  
>"Don't worry," Yamamoto asked ready to lay on the ground. "I'll back you up."<br>"Don't try to act cool, you idiot," Gokudera asked tapping the ash of the end of his cigarette. "There are still broken china around."  
>"Holy-"<br>"Told 'ya."

It had been a long time since Gokudera had felt so relaxed. He didn't know if it was the clear blue sky, the fresh air or Yamamoto's words, but he could feel a bit of his tension leaving his body.

"So, let's make a plan to make you first move a success," Yamamoto said cheerfully.  
>"What?"<p>

It seemed that he wouldn't feel relaxed for long...

* * *

><p><em>Hello and thanks for reading this fanfic. '23 Mafia' is actually a sequel of 'My 1 and a half Girlfriend', which ended three years ago. It's not necessary to read the prequel of course, but you will definitely have a clearer picture of what to expect from the story if you do. My grammar and vocabulary are weak, so I want to humbly apologize for that. Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you enjoy the story._


	2. Target 2

When Yamamoto said that he was going to make a plan to help him, Gokudera was secretly hoping that the rain guardian was simply joking. It wasn't because he didn't trust his way with women. Though he would hardly admit it, Gokudera was always wondering why Yamamoto - putting his good looks aside – despite the fact he was lacking wicked ways, he always seemed to be so popular with them. With years, he had come to a conclusion; he was a natural, the enemy of every other men, an enemy to envy.

That didn't mean that he wasn't popular himself, by all means. Gokudera had gained some self-awareness as he was growing up. However, his popularity wouldn't go further his outward appearance. When it came to his relationships, nothing seemed to work. According to his boss, he shouldn't worry about it that much and that he should just wait for the right person to appear. But, for a stressful person like him, these words were not enough; he was certain that he was doing something wrong.

Confident that he should and he could do something about it, he decided to take his measures before another disaster befall him. He bought books about relationships, books about how to treat women and many other similar guides, which would guarantee him success. And Gokudera read and read, until he finished reading them all, ignoring Yamamoto's teasing in the progress, pretty assured that he had finally found a solution to his problem. Guess what; much to his surprise, he failed once again. Disappointed and loosing all hope, he hadn't tried to start anew since his last failure and devoted his time and life to his work even more.

That's why, Yamamoto to him, when it come to women, he was kind of a god-like person. Easy going and cheerful, he had no problem to talk to them like he knew them for years, only to be accepted by them quite easily. Nevertheless, his friend's ways weren't fit for him, neither he wanted to try them. It was embarrassing, daring and there was no guarantee that it would actually work. He hated it and he strongly believed that the possibilities to ridicule himself while using them were high.

As they were watching the young girl, hiding behind a wall, Gokudera was listening to his friend's advice about how he should act; _Act natural, go woo, then haa... and then it just happens_. Great advice for someone who could actually understand a sentence - specifically the sentence above - which didn't make any sense. What did women ever see in him; Gokudera could not understand and he was convinced that he never would. What does it mean to 'go woo' anyway?

He pouted, maybe it would be a good choice to leave at that time, before he messes up anything. Sighing, he glanced at the young woman who was alone in the garden; good thing she hadn't notice them for the time being. According to Yamamoto, it was the perfect chance to walk up to her and start a conversation, but Gokudera had no idea what kind of topic he should raise, nor the nerve to act natural.

"She has become... more..."  
>"Cute?"<br>"Ladylike!" Gokudera said flushed. "Just look at her! It's obvious!"

Yamamoto arched an eyebrow. Certainly, her characteristics were more effeminate than they used to be in the past – she had grown up after all- and she seemed to be more mature in terms of personality, but when it came to her overall appearance... it was kind of childish for her age. She had grew up a bit indeed, but she wasn't very tall, she looked more like a girl at her teens than a mature woman. A woman at her 20s, looking like a high school student; no, he would never describe that as the lady like or the mature type. Moreover this type wasn't even to his taste, but he could admit that it was still kind of cute, if he had to describe it. His friend's flustered face made Yamamoto blink and cupping his chin he towered over the storm guardian trying to hide a sly smile.

"But she is still kind of cute," he said as innocently as he could.  
>"Wha- Stop calling her cute! She is not cute! Why do <em>you<em> care if she is cute or not anyway?"  
>"Maybe... you also consider her kind of cute and you just don't want to admit it."<br>"Of course not! I'm a grown up man!" he countered, not very convincingly. "I do not think of, care about or like cute things!"

He couldn't handle it; Gokudera's flustered face, combined with his clumsy gestures, while he was trying to explain his manly ways in a very childish one, were funny enough to make him hold his belly from laughing. His friend looked at him confused, unable to comprehend what made Yamamoto laugh so hard while they were in the middle of a _serious _conversation and shook his head in disappointment. Yamamoto's immaturity didn't stop to amaze him.

"Relax-relax, I was just joking," Yamamoto waved in a reassuring way, still laughing. "Even if you consider her cute, that doesn't make you less of a man. But, boy, you were so funny acting like that."  
>"Oh-oh! I see! You were joking!" Gokudera said stubbornly folding his hands, now annoyed by his friends laughter. "And here I was thinking of telling Haru how cute you consider Akira to be. Oh! Maybe she would say something like '<em>Hahi! I didn't know she liked the cute type! It's a scoop<em>!', or something like that," he said trying to imitate Haru's way of talking.

Yamamoto's laugh stopped immediately.

"You wouldn't dare!" he said rolling his eyes.  
>"Oh, wouldn't I?" Gokudera asked provocative.<br>"Ok, just relax. I wasn't just joking, I meant no harm."

Yamamoto tried to humor his friend, surprised that Gokudera had brought up a personal matter the rain guardian hadn't dared to discuss with him till then. Furthermore, what had surprised him even more was that his friend was aware of that, since he considered Gokudera to be clueless about this kind of matters. And he had even dared to threaten him indirectly! Just how dangerous could he become? Tsuna's right hand man was able to turn into a minefield when he were to protect his territory; Yamamoto noted that he should be more careful from that point.

"Go, now. Talk to her," he said pushing Gokudera lightly towards the garden.  
>"I know-I know, I'm not a little kid," Gokudera said, brushing off Yamamoto's hands.<p>

.

He made a few steps, glancing at Yamamoto over his shoulder. Seeing his hesitation, Yamamoto waved at him whispering 'good luck'. He snorted; the storm guardian turned his face away, taking a few determined steps. It was entertaining to watch him acting clumsy.

"Ah, hello..." Gokudera said hesitantly.

The girl turned to him blinking, titling her head to the right. She was holding a paper crane.

"Ah, Gokudera Hayato."

He smiled nervously; he wasn't expecting her to call him using his whole name. He shook his head, trying to shake off the thought. Try to act naturally; he repeated again and again inside his head.

"Origami?" he asked taking a paper. "It's been so many years since I last did that. I only know how to fold cranes and a bunnies though."  
>"I'm not very good at it either," she smiled playing with the crane between her fingers. "But I can do as much; folding a crane should be easy. I still mess up sometimes though, but I can't help it, they are beautiful."<br>"Here," he said handing her the paper crane.  
>"It's actually better than mine," she said checking it out. "And to think it's been years since you did this. I'm kind of jealous... Can I keep it?"<br>"Euh? Of course," he nodded.  
>"Thank you," she smiled softly.<br>"You know!" he said in a high pitched voice, his cheeks painted in red colour. "May-"  
>"Ah! Gokudera, Akira!" Tsuna called.<p>

Yamamoto, who was watching them all that time, smacked his forehead with his palm. Tsuna usually had bad timing and he was proving it for one more time. Why did he have to appear all of sudden, and just when things were getting to the good part too?

"Tenth!" Gokudera muffled, standing up.  
>"It's okay Gokudera. They is no need to do that every time, I told you so many times already."<br>"But Tenth-"  
>"Anyway," Tsuna interrupted him with a smile. "I thought that since Dino is here now, maybe we should go horseback riding."<br>"Great idea, Tenth. Dino will definitely appreciate your thought," Gokudera applauded.  
>"So I wonder if you two want to join us," Tsuna added.<br>"Since Tenth wants to..." Gokudera mumbled.  
>"Excuse me but I would like to refuse the offer," Akira said bowing slightly. "Dino is fond of horseback riding so it was a frequent activity back in Italy. Thus, I would like to take that chance and-"<br>"But that would be such a pity," Tsuna interrupted her.  
>"That's right, Tenth! What if you fall and get hurt-" Gokudera said anxiously. "Ah! It's not like I don't want to accompany you in-"<p>

He cut his words when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. It was Yamamoto, who had predicted Gokudera's panicked reaction and decided to take his measures. At least his friend, either it was from embarrassment or because his surprise gave him the chance to calm down, had regained his composure and took the time to think before he addresses Tsuna again.

"I think that it's a great idea, Tenth. But on the other had, not everyone has to participate in this activity. I'm sure that miss Hibari would rather visit her town and friends since she hasn't visit for many years," he said bowing slightly. _'Why did I use her last name?'_ he screamed inwardly.

Tsuna, who was looking at them confused at first, seemed to calm down. Neither the fact that Gokudera changed his reaction so fast, more than once, or Yamamoto's deep sigh after Gokudera's last words had passed unnoticed. The young Vongola boss felt uneasy; he didn't know why, but he had the feeling that he had put his friends in a awkward situation.

"Gokudera is right, Tsuna," Yamamoto laughed. "And I'm more than willing to take his place."  
>"Euh?" the storm guardian looked at him surprised. "What do you mean?"<br>"I would like to know what do you mean too, Yamamoto," Tsuna asked. "I never said that you were not invited."  
>"I know that Gokudera is not very fond of this activity, so maybe he could accompany Akira downtown instead. We shouldn't leave a girl alone, right?" Yamamoto turned to Akira smiling. "I bet the town has changed a lot since you last visited, so it would be convenient for you."<p>

At that moment, Gokudera felt great gratitude towards Yamamoto, which was something rare, only to get a cold shower few seconds later.

"That's not necessary," she said. "I can take care of my self, I'm not a little kid. Tenth's storm guardian doesn't ought to waste his time for something like that."

Everyone has a time he wants to punch a person or two, that's a given; that moment Yamamoto wanted to punch both of them for being so formal. First Gokudera, then her; why did they have to call each other by their last names or use titles, Yamamoto could not understand. And then again, like brother, like sister; her ego would definitely be a problem. But that was the last problem he had, his silver haired friend was already discouraged by her unenthusiastic reception.

"That's- That's right!" Gokudera begun flushed. "I didn't-"  
>"You didn't want to make Akira feel awkward, right?" Yamamoto made him stop, covering his mouth quickly. "Maybe she has plans already. It's my bad for suggesting something like that, I apologize."<br>"Euh? No... There is no need to..." the girl said surprised. "I don't really..."  
>"I see. Then, if you change your mind, you can always consult my friend here," he said patting Gokudera's back. "Now, Gokudera, let's go. I have something to tell you."<p>

"Wha- Tenth, I-"  
>"It's fine, just come with me!"<p>

Yamamoto dragged him away despite his complains. His friend was a perfect definition of the world tsundere, so leaving him alone to handle this could cause a great mess and the last they wanted was a misunderstanding. Tsuna and Akira were left behind alone, feeling somewhat lost by Yamamato and Gokudera's behaviours. Trying to change the mood, Tsuna turned to her with a smile.

"I'll inform Dino on your account if you want," he said. "Don't misunderstand them, Gokudera is a gallant man, despite his attitude. I'm sure that he should be more than glad to accompany a young girl, I'm sure that was what Yamamoto had in mind when he asked you."  
>"Does this mean that he accompanies young girls often?" she asked.<br>"Euh? No. No-no-no. Well, not exactly. Of course he had many relationships in the past... No, when I say many, I don't mean _way_ too many... Well, many of them were short, so... Oh! That doesn't mean that he wasn't serious about them, or that he was fed up easily... He just didn't..."

Tsuna finally realized that not only had he badmouthed Gokudera in one way, but he was making it worse with every sentence he was saying...

"Okay, I'll shut up now. It was nice to talk to you, Akira..." he said leaving with a nervous smile.

"Hoooh?" the girl tilted her head, watching Tsuna who was waving anxiously as he was leaving. "I guess that means that he is single now... That's interesting."  
>"Akira," a stern voice called.<br>"Coming, brother," he said running towards a figure in the distance. "They sky is rather clear today, right? I wonder why it looks more beautiful now I'm back to my country."  
>"Who knows."<p>

Yamamoto watched the two siblings from afar, as they were leaving the mansion. So, it seemed that she would have a company after all. Still, his attention turned back to his friend soon. Gokudera was supporting himself with his hands on the wall, looking depressed. Yamamoto guessed that even that kind of rejection was hard for a man... so, no wonder Gokudera's morale had dropped.

"Hey," Yamamoto tried to cheer him up. "Don't let it get into you."  
>"Why did you have to bring that up? What was I supposed to do if we were to go alone downtown?" Gokudera snapped and placed his hands on Yamamoto's shoulder. "Euh? Euh?"<br>"Well," Yamamoto retorted nervously. "Wouldn't that be like a date? It's not like you haven't go on a date before."  
>"A date... A date?" he repeated blushing. "Do you think she would accept a date?"<br>"No-no, I said that it would be _like_ a date," Yamamoto explained, but his friend was already lost in his fantasies.

Judging from Gokudera's face, Yamamoto would bet his whole fortune that his friend was planning the whole date in his head already. He was the type he would plan everything beforehand -from the places to dialogues- only to panic with the first miscalculation and end up failing miserably.

"Hayato... Ha-ya-to..." he said tapping his shoulder.  
>"What?" Gokudera asked annoyed.<br>"What about that; we can consult other guardians for tips."  
>"No way! No. Just <em>no<em>!"  
>"Why not?" Yamamoto insisted. "They are experienced and the most of them had of they are in a relationship. Tsuna, Ryohei, even Lambo. <em>Even<em> Hibari could give us tips..." Yamamoto fell silent for a moment. "If you think about it... considering Hibari's nature... It's depressing that we are the only single guardians other than him..."  
>"Huh," Gokudera agreed.<br>"So, what do you think?" Yamamoto asked recovering quickly.  
>"Just no! We can't trouble Tenth with something like this. And the rest of them are out of question. Ryohei and Lambo could blurt out something about that. Hibari would probably throw us out of his room, and to tell the truth I' m not willing to bow my head to him in order to ask tips for something like this anyway," he added stubbornly.<br>"Hm... What about Mukuro then?" Yamamoto laughed.  
>"Mukuro?" Gokudera gasped. "Why <em>Mukuro<em>? That's the worst idea you ever had!"  
>"Really, I think it's a idea! He is not living with us, so he won't have the chance to blurt anything out, and he is extremely popular for some reason, so I bet he can give us a tip or two. We will have to wait till tomorrow though. Now I have to go horseback riding!" he said excited.<br>"Wait! I never assented to this! Come back! Don't try to get away laughing!"  
>"I'll see you later...!"<p>

Gokudera had a bad feeling about that... a very bad feeling. Maybe he should go back to his study and stay there locked for the whole day tomorrow in order to avoid it. Yamamoto's idea was giving him the creeps. Why would he trust his personal matters to someone who he hadn't fully trusted once before. Driven by a sense of insecurity, he reached his pocket for a smoke looking up to the sky. Somehow, the future looked bleak...

...And then, it stroke him. Getting carried away by Yamamoto's enthusiasm, he hadn't even considered it once since Yamamoto started to talk about his plans. They didn't even know if she was single or if she was already interested in someone. The storm guardian felt perplexed. Why did he ignored such an important detail? Where was Yamamoto when he needed him?

"I'm such an idiot..." he mumbled, hugging his knees to his chest.

Feeling his cheeks burn and his lips dry, he couldn't help but question what was wrong with him. He felt angry and disappointed by himself. He wasn't a teenager, he was an adult... a grown-up man. Yet, the beats of his racing heart were tense and relaxing at the same time. Embarrassed, the young guardian thought that maybe it wasn't bad to feel like that from time to time...

* * *

><p><em>Hello and thanks for reading. You may be aware already, but I felt obliged to mention that this story includes pairings I support. I hope you won't mind and will continue reading the story despite that fact.<em>


	3. Target 3

It was a nice, sunny day. Watching Yamamoto's back as he was following him, Gokudera couldn't help but wonder why did he finally consent to his friend's whims. The rain guardian was preceding, holding a paper with a poorly drawn map. He could see him mumbling to himself from time to time, with his eyes narrowed, checking the area around them. Yamamoto was never good with maps. If Gokudera was enthusiastic about the idea, he would have lost his patience by then; but he wasn't. Visiting Mukuro wasn't a good idea; he had repeated that again and again but the rain guardian didn't change his mind.

Mukuro was one of the few persons Gokudera could easily say that he detested with a passion. Even though he was feeling obliged to him for all the times he had helped them, he couldn't stand him, neither his action, nor his personality. Tsuna, however, was insisting that Mukuro was one of the family and moreover he was their mist guardian. So, his right hand man was silently tolerating the obnoxious guardian whenever he had to. Well, he was trying to, at least, since despite his earnest, hard efforts, he was usually engaging into battles of wits with the arrogant man.

Ignorant of the way the map had come under his friend's possession, he had followed him in a forgotten, from what it appeared to be, area. The mist guardian was probably keen on these kind of places, judging from past experience. The air in the area was sultry, so sultry the storm guardian felt the need to put out his cigarette. The smell there was horrid, cocking; rotten litter, food smells... all mixed in the humid air. It made him wonder why the creepy mafioso had declined their boss' offer to move into their mansion time after time. Maybe that place suited him better though, him and his rotten personality. The storm guardian spit on the tiling pavement, enraged by the fact that they were going personally to ask for tips from _the_ mist guardian he avoided whenever he could.

"This is it!" Yamamoto informed him, pointing at a worn down apartment block while smiling.

There was no bell to ring. The front door was wide open, thus they entered hesitantly after taking a peek inside. The lift was broken - god knows since when - so they had to take the stairs, which were in no better condition. Old, ragged and rusty, they were creaking under their feet. Why did the mist guardian chose that place, Gokudera could not understand. Mukuro should be able to afford something better than that. When they reached the third floor, Yamamoto pushed the bell of the apartment under the name of Sato Kasumi; of course, Mukuro would never use his real name even for that.

The wooden door opened shortly after and a young woman appeared in the opening. Chrome Dokuro was looking at them flushed. She moved a bit awkward, covering the entrance with her body and gave them a nervous smile. Her long hair were flattering her figure, her complexion was fair as always; beautiful. She stayed there, fidgeting and staring at the floor while she was trying to say something. However, though her lips were moving, no words came out.

"How are you Chrome?" Yamamoto asked, trying to lighten up the mood. "It's been a while since we last met."  
>"I'm fine," she muffled.<br>"We're here to meet-"  
>"Mukuro-sama," she begun with a strange determination. "Mukuro-sama told me to tell you that he is not here and he will <em>not <em>return for at least a month!" she continued balling her fists, not daring to look at them into their eyes.

Both guardians smiled nervously, unsure if they should cry or laugh at Chrome's failed attempt to lie under Mukuro's orders. The young woman felt so relieved when she managed to say her lines. It would be nasty if they were to rib her effort -and it seemed that she had put a lot of it- so they decided to laugh it of.

"We know Mukuro is here from a trusted source," Yamamoto smiled. "Don't worry Chrome, I'll cover up for you."  
>"Che... Impudent bastard... Trying to make us go away with such an obvious lie. Who does he think he is?" Gokudera bitched folding his arms.<br>"You are not a great specimen of grace and politeness," Yamamoto countered.  
>"Please, come in then," Chrome said, still dubious.<br>"Sorry to intrude," Yamamoto laughed and took off his shoes by the entrance.  
>"Sorry to intrude," Gokudera said like an echo.<p>

Unlike the smell in the neighborhood, the air inside the house had a pleasant fragrance. Chrome showed them the way to the living room where Mukuro was resting reading a book. Gokudera glanced the room with approval; it was small and stuffy, but at least it was very tidy. That reminded him of the piles of papers on his desktop which were waiting for him to browse through them; he had to go back quickly and take care of them.

"You never learn Chrome," Mukuro sighed. "At least you managed to keep them away for a couple of minutes this time."  
>"I'm sorry," she apologized.<br>"We' re happy too see you too, Mukuro," Yamamoto smiled.  
>"What gave you the impression that I'm <em>happy<em> to see you?" Mukuro smirked. "Nobody is happy when someone disturbs their peace."  
>"It's not like we came here because we wanted to see you face," Gokudera hissed.<br>"Well, you know the way to the door. Get out of here then," the mist guardian smiled. "Idiocy is contagious and I'm afraid this room is very small."  
>"You are right, thanks for the warning. Maybe we would leave before we get anything from you. Let's go, Yamamoto," he said ready to leave.<br>"Easy, Hayato," Yamamoto grabbed him. "Don't loose your cool."  
>"I didn't lost my cool," he answered back.<p>

The mist guardian let out a chuckle and left his book on a short table next to him. Even though he hated any connection to the Vongola family, he considered its members to be very amusing. That's why he decided to listen to whatever they had to say; maybe he would be able to find a way to kill time. He crossed his legs and laced his fingers, resting his face on his hands; sign that he was ready to listen. Yamamoto took a seat, almost forcing Gokudera to sit by his side.

"How can I help you then? Your useless boss needs my services again?"  
>"Don't dare to call Tenth useless again!" Gokudera snapped.<br>"Kufufu, truth is always hard."  
>"Sorry for interrupting."<p>

It was Chrome who brought green tea for her guests. In her presence, everyone fell quiet and it took a couple of minutes before they resume their conversation.

"This has nothing to do with the family affairs," Yamamoto begun to explain taking a sip from his tea. "It's more like a... love problem."  
>"Oh," Mukuro arched an eyebrow. "So... you two finally became a couple."<br>"Hell no!" they said in unison.

Yamamoto almost choked...

"Then?"  
>"One of us is into a girl and... we need some tips. We thought that you' d be able to help," Yamamoto said.<br>"_You_ thought," Gokudera corrected.  
>"Ok-ok, <em>I<em> thought."

The mist guardian covered his mouth trying to hid a chuckle, of course he didn't try to hide it very hard. Full of embarrassment, Gokudera was once again ready to leave, but Mukuro stopped him with a vague gesture. Somehow Yamamoto had started to realize that maybe it was indeed a bad idea, since Mukuro had put on a sly smile.

"Give me a good reason to help you with your love problems," Mukuro said.  
>"Well, you have a long relationship with Chrome, so..." Yamamoto made his first attempt.<br>"There are plenty of other guys with long relationships, I can't see why your reasoning can give me a motive."  
>"Well, you are popular-" Yamamoto tried again.<br>"I said _a motive_," Mukuro repeated.  
>"She is Hibari's little sister," Yamamoto said fast.<br>"Yama-ah..." Gokudera turned surprised to face his friend; just what was he thinking?  
>"Hoooh..."<p>

At least they had caught his interest; that was what Yamamoto was trying to achieve from the start. Gokudera on the other hand considered that a very-very bad idea, the worst idea of all. Mukuro could use that against him whenever he wanted to, if he were to find _he_ was the one interested in her. Also, after that, their option to run away from the situation had vanished.

"Hibari's little sister?" he asked cupping his chin. "So I guess Hibari doesn't approve the potential boyfriend."  
>"Well, not exactly," Yamamoto smiled nervously. "It's more like the girl herself doesn't know that she has <em>a potential boyfriend<em>. In other words, we need some tips on how to catch her attention."

It was obvious; the fact that Mukuro was thinking how pitiful they were. He was looking at them with a blank expression on his face, not even moving an eyelid for a moment. Even though he didn't say anything, both of them felt miserable for their own reasons. Gokudera was in disgrace, he didn't believe he had fell so low. Yamamoto knew that he was no better than him and the man across them was no saint; he wouldn't hesitate to mock them if he wanted to.

"In other words, whoever is interested in her, is a coward," he concluded.  
>"Who did you call a coward?" Gokudera stood up balling his fists.<p>

"So _you_ are the one," Mukuro smiled slyly once again.  
>"Gokudera..." Yamamoto sighed.<br>"Still, I can't see why I should help you. If you want a girlfriend, earn her on your own."  
>"You see, Hibari isn't really in good terms with Gokudera. So imagine his reaction when he finds about their relationship <em>if <em>they become a couple."  
>"I won't be there to see his expression," Mukuro retorted coldly.<br>"Well..."  
>"But, I shall help you," he said standing up.<br>"Euh? Really? What made you to change your mind?" Yamamoto asked blinking.  
>"Gokudera's embarrassed face is amusing enough, I can't wait to see more of it" Mukuro reasoned.<br>"Well, that's..." Yamamoto let his cup of tea back on the table, taking a peek at Gokudera's face.

Embarrassed? More like pissed off. The rain guardian knew that he would have to go through a very long lecture about how thoughtless he was with his ideas. Making a note that he should be prepared for that when the time comes, he stood up as well, followed by a worked up Gokudera. Mukuro wore his shoes quickly. Kicking the tip of his toes slight on the floor, he checked them out.

"Ready," he said. "Chrome, I'm going out."  
>"Euh?" Chrome came out of her room rushing, she looked confused.<br>"Don't worry, I won't be late," he said by the entrance.

"Ok."

"Thanks for the tea," Yamamoto said.  
>"Sorry for bothering you," Gokudera added as they were exiting the apartment.<p>

They followed Mukuro outside without any questions. Mukuro didn't turn behind until they were out of the apartment building. Obviously, he wasn't interested to engage in a conversation. The truth was that the three guardians didn't have much in common in the first place, so it would be hard to start one anyway.

"So? Where is your car?" Mukuro asked.  
>"Actually we came on Gokudera's motorbike," Yamamoto answered.<br>"Really..."

Mukuro sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose lightly. You didn't have to know his personality very well in order to guess what he was thinking; "idiots" he probably said inwordly and then stopped for a moment a bit hesitantly.

"Oh well, let's take my car then. Follow me."

His car wasn't exactly what would fit his image. It was an old model of 90s or maybe older, yet it was pretty clean. A few small defects here and there were ruining its overall appearance. Nevertheless, it was nothing like the two others guardians imaged it to be. The mist guardian gestured them to enter. Though signs of weathering were signifying its old age, the interior was pretty neat as well. Mukuro put on the engine as soon as he sat on the driver's seat.

"I wouldn't imagine you'd have a car like this," Yamamoto said after a while, still checking out the car.  
>"Hmmm? Is there a problem with that?"<br>"Well, it's pretty old."  
>"I happen to like old cars."<br>"Yeah, right. You should just accept the salary Tenth wants to give you and buy something better, you damn pineapple," Gokudera, who was on the back seat of the car, mumbled while looking out of the window. "What the...!"

Mentioning Tsuna and on top of it calling him pineapple is not a good idea when you are around Mukuro; Gokudera should know as much. The mist guardian hit the brakes and as a result Gokudera collided with the seat in front of him; too bad the safety belt buckle was broken. Yamamoto, as surprised as his friend, was afraid that a storm was soon to come after that comment.

"Gokudera, stop acting all high and mighty," he said in an attempt to cover the situation. "You should respect his choice. Mukuro is willing to help us, it's rude to insult him like that by calling him pineapple. He..."  
>"It's ok," Mukuro interrupted him with a plastered smile. "I have gotten over this insult years ago, I'm not a child you know. Let him say whatever he wants, at least<em> I<em>'m not depending on someone's money."

It wasn't okay, it was definitely not okay. Yamamoto could easily read the signs of Mukuro's frustration. He was confident that it would have consequences sooner or later. Once he was putting on that kind of face it was clear that he wasn't meaning whatever he was saying and that moment Yamamoto witnessed a very creepy smile; his feeling of discomfort was more than understandable.

"What? I work hard to-"  
>"Gokudera!" Yamamoto interrupted him.<p>

The results of that conversation were shown about a couple of hours later. Gokudera was dressed in a cowboy style but he was far from looking good or so Yamamoto thought. His clothes were way too flashy and they didn't suit him at all. And as if that wasn't already enough, the storm guardian seemed to be excited about his new style.

"Does it look good on me?" Gokudera asked expecting a positive answer.  
>"Huh, of course," Mukuro smiled.<p>

That was bad, Mukuro was pulling a poker face, it was quite obvious...

"Are you sure this is the style to go?"  
>"Of course. It's very popular. I read about it in a magazine a couple of days ago, women love it. It's a trend."<br>"Well, since there was an article in a magazine about it..." Gokudera shrugged. "What do you think Yamamoto?"  
>"Em, well... isn't it a bit... too much?" he asked smiling nervously.<br>"Like you would know," Gokudera retorted blandly.

Yamamoto was shocked. Not only was his friend easily manipulated, but he had also lost his sense of fashion and wasn't willing to take his advice. Mukuro's sly smile verified his fear; he was winning that battle and his was very glad for that. The rain guardian admitted that, after all, his plan was one of the worst ideas he ever had but it was too late. How was he supposed to get his friend out of that situation without making himself look bad?

"So, now you just have to follow my instructions and there is no doubt that the girl will fall for you right away," Mukuro said heading to the exit.  
>"Hey, were are you going? Don't we have to pay for them..."<br>"We already did," Gokudera said.  
>"What? When?"<br>"When you were spacing out, looking like an oaf," Gokudera said irritated.  
>"Wait, does this mean that you are going out in these?" Yamamoto asked freaked out, staring at the red pair of cowboy boots Gokudera was wearing.<br>"Got a problem with that? The sooner I wear them the better, right?"  
>"Actually... no," Yamamoto gulped.<br>"Oh, come on. What got into you know?" Gokudera whined.  
>"Oh, don't mind him... as I was saying..."<p>

His idea was a disaster after all, if Gokudera were to appear in front of Akira like that and things were to get a turn for the worst, Yamamoto would be the first to be blamed from that and he knew it very well. But after seeing his friend acting like that, it was clear that there was no turning back. Mukuro would definitely find a way to make his words backfire if he were to tell him that his clothes not only they didn't suit him but they were making him look ridiculous as well.

"Now, let's go back to take your motorbike," Mukuro said.  
>"Euh? I'm going to appear on my motorbike while I'm wearing these clothes?" Gokudera asked.<p>

'_That's right Gokudera, realize it already_,' Yamamoto thought excited.

"Of course, this style isn't called the 'easy rider style' for nothing."  
>"Oh, that makes sense."<p>

'_He made that up on the spot, isn't it obvious? Gokudera, you are hopeless_..." Yamamoto sighed.

"Oh look, you are already getting women's attention," Mukuro fibbed.  
>"Euh? Really?"<p>

'_If you were not so excited about this, you'd realize that you just look weird_,' Yamamoto decided that he should at least make an attempt. "Say, Hayato. Maybe you shouldn't pretend to be something you are not in front of her, since that's not your-"

"His style or not, he has to make a few sacrifices if he wants to get the girl, right?" Mukuro asked smiling.  
>"Yeah, but-"<br>"After all there won't be a problem since the clothes look so good on him, I bet the girl will fall for his looks right away."

_'You are lying!'_

"Well, maybe, who knows..." Gokudera said happily, scratching his nose.

'_Oh great, now he is not only excited, he is being modest too,_' Yamamoto smacked his forehead against the palm of his hand.

'Something wrong, Yamamoto?" Mukuro asked.  
>"Not really," Yamamoto smiled nervously.<p>

According to their plan, well initially Yamamoto's plan, Gokudera was supposed to appear in front of her while she was waiting for Hibari and offer to take her back to the mansion. Of course Hibari would never appear, so the storm guardian would be her savior offering her to give her a ride home. Mukuro tried hard to hide a snicker when he first heard about it, but Yamamato decided that it should be better to ignore it.

Their target, Akira, was waiting in front of the playground as it was appointed. Mukuro's blank expression when he heard that the stated place was Yamamoto's idea made Yamamoto realize immediately that he hadn't put much thought on it. As a matter of fact, with so many kids around and considering Gokudera's appearance at that moment, it could be a significant factor which could lead to an even bigger disaster.

"Ok, are you ready?" Mukuro asked.  
>"Pretty much," Gokudera gulped.<br>"Do as you were instructed."  
>"Got it," he said putting on a pair of sunglasses.<p>

"What-!" Yamamoto tried to protest.

It was too late, Gokudera was walking towards his motorbike very confidently. The rain guardian had no idea why his friend believed that he was looking cool. It seemed that at times like that one Gokudera tended to delusion himself and Vongola's illusionist had managed to maximize that part of his character.

"Sunglasses, cowboy clothes and hat, really?" Yamamoto asked.  
>"Well, it's hilarious, isn't it?"<br>"No, that was bad and you should feel bad," Yamamoto retorted.  
>"So, that's Hibari's sister?" Mukuro asked changing the subject. "They look alike."<br>"Yeah, she is like a female Hibari in appearance," Yamamoto agreed.  
>"Her face pisses me off."<p>

_Of course it does..._

"Well," he continued. "At least I'm going to enjoy the show."  
>"Honestly, did you have to go that far? You should have get over the pineapple thing until now."<br>"I said, it's not like it bothers me, I'm not a child," he said coldly, but his smile was as creepy as ever.

However, Yamamoto didn't have the change to continue their conversation since Gokudera had already reached Akira's position. After stopping abruptly in front of her, he tipped his hat and took off his glasses with a smile asking if she wanted a ride. The whole scene was like a bad commercial, but Gokudera had actually done everything Mukuro had instructed him to. Yamamoto Takeshi at that time found himself between a dilemma; should he cry at his friend's naivety or should he laugh at the ludicrous scene he was witnessing? Mukuro on the other hand didn't even have to think about it and was laughing shamelessly.

Naturally Yamamoto, as he informed Mukuro later, had intentionally left a few details unmentioned; like how he had managed to change the appointed meeting under Hibari's nose and make Akira wait there instead of the right place. The cloud guardian was probably waiting outside of their home as they were chatting. The petulant brother wouldn't be pleased once he'd find out the truth, but the rain guardian hadn't bother to plan ahead.

As for Gokudera, he was sure that the plan would succeed since they had followed advices from magazines and everything had gone smoothly until that time; at least that was what he was thinking. Despite that, the reaction he received made all his confidence to fly away. After looking at him for a few seconds with a hollow expression, Akira snorted.

"Wha-I-Do... Do you want a ride?" he asked tipping his hat again, yet nervously at that time.

She looked at him raising her eyebrows and then tried to hide a chuckle...

"What? What's so funny?" he asked annoyed. "If you don't want a-"  
>"Your clothes," she said.<br>"Euh?"  
>"They don't suit you at all."<br>"Well-I... I'm trying to be in fashion, ok?" he asked flustered.  
>"Oh, I guess that's the latest trend in Japan then," she said checking him out.<br>"Wha-What are you looking at?"  
>"...I think your old style was better, it suited you more at least."<br>"I-I... these clothes... Anyway, do you want a ride or not? I'm not going to wait forever you know," he gabbled.  
>"I'm waiting for my brother, so I'll have to decline the offer."<br>"Well, Tenth said that Hibari won't be able to come, so I came here in his place," he said; of course that was just a lie Yamamoto had told him.  
>"Strange. If that was the case, he would have called by now," she said confused. "I guess it's ok since he sent someone to come and get me though."<br>"I guess..."  
>"Alright then," she said hopping on the motorbike.<br>"Here, take my helmet."  
>"Why don't you wear your helmet instead of the strange hat?" she asked blinking.<br>"It's fine, right!" he asked flustered. "It's ok if it's just for today."  
>"If you say so," she said taking the helmet from his hands.<p>

"Try to hold tight, ok?"  
>"Huh."<p>

As she put her hands around his waist, Gokudera tensed. He didn't know if he should describe that as being embarrassed or as being mousy, but he felt really awkward. The storm guardian wasn't what someone would call a shy person; he could become very bold and rude sometimes, but in situations like that one he could be extremely self-conscious, even without reason. He clumsily lowered his hat to hide his expression, though even Yamamoto could see the smile he tried to hide from his position. The rain guardian looked at the scene pleased, he didn't have to worry about the outcome anymore.

"Hooh, it seems that everything went ok. Somehow, that's not fun at all, but good for him," he said with a small applaud.  
>:I didn't expect that you'd be actually happy about the outcome!" Yamamoto said with enthusiasm.<br>"I'm not," Mukuro retorted with a smile. "I hope he will get rejected and come back crying. But, life is a bitch. I can't have my fun whenever I want."  
>"You're really something else," Yamamoto sighed. "You even accepted to help us."<br>"Well, goodnight."  
>"Hold on, where are you going?" Yamamoto asked surprised.<br>"Back home of course, you should follow my example."  
>"But Gokudera left. I thought you'd drive me back home!"<br>"I could do that of course. Your mansion is not very far away from her," Mukuro said as he was entering into his car.  
>"Alright then, I-"<br>"But I don't want to. See you, Yamamoto Takeshi."  
>"Hey, wa-"<p>

It was too late, Mukuro had no intention to wait or help him go back home and the young guardian was left behind shocked by how things turned out. In the end, he was the one left behind and he had no fun whatsoever. Maybe he should call a taxi, everyone else would too be busy to come and get him, Or so he thought until he saw Hibari coming his way...

"Divine retribution maybe?" he gulped.

And while Yamamoto was facing a great danger, Gokudera was trying to calm down. He had never managed to get used to that kind of situation. As he was feeling Akira's body pressed to his back, he was unable to relax. That had happened again in the past in different situations. When he tried to brought up the topic once, after having the foolish idea to ask for tips or advice from the other guardians, he was accused for being a pervert. No, he wasn't one, he strongly believed that. He felt that it was inappropriate and that was all. The storm guardian could be conservative in an usual way; especially with relationships.

"Say... Mr. Gokudera..." she said. "What's the real reason my brother didn't show up?"  
>"What's with you? I already explained. Aren't you too attached to him?"<br>"Well, if I am, I guess my brother could be described as siscon too," she answered.  
>"Euh? Really..." Gokudera snorted.<br>"I wonder if he will be able to find a girlfriend," she continued. "It'd be a great help. Mum has it hard too."

Her voice was low and kind of monotonous; a type of voice Gokudera often found unpleasant because of his work. How were you supposed to figure out someone who shows no emotion as you speak? Were they bored? Were they not? Did they find the conversation interesting? Things like there were passing through his mind continuously when he encountered this type of people.

"Don't worry about him, I bet he will," he finally said. "It's Hibari after all, it won't surprise me if he forces the girl he likes to marry him."  
>"You don't think highly of my brother, do you, Mr. Gokudera?" she laughed.<br>"It's not something new, is it?" he asked.

He wished he had bought a jacket along with the rest of the clothes. The light, summer breeze was enough to make him feel cold. It felt the need for a tobacco too, but he didn't want to stop. Being called mister was bothersome, he wasn't an old man after all. It wasn't like their age gap was a big one anyway, a couple of years only.

"Hey... You know..."  
>"Yes?"<br>"Gokudera is fine..." he said trying he best to focus on the road. "Ha... Hayato is fine too," he almost mumbled.  
>"Euh?"<br>"I said Gokudera is fine! Why do you make me repeat my self?" he asked in a louder voice and sucked his teeth."  
>"Mr. Hayato then..."<br>"Just drop the mister! I'm not an old man!" he finally snapped.  
>"It's fine-it's fine," she laughed.<br>"Jeez... What's so funny?" he asked irritated and a pause followed.  
>"Akira is fine too... Since everyone calls my brother by his last name, it's strange to be called like that too."<br>"I... Well... I guess..."

The mansion finally came into their view; the lights were still on in the living room, Tsuna and his company were probably still awake. Their security required voice recognition and an ID card, while guards were on the watch by the gates. Four more should be on patrol in and around the yard by that time. As the gate opened Gokudera gave a nod to the guards and pulled in his motorbike.

"Thanks for the ride," she said. "Here, your helmet."  
>"Ah... You don't have to thank me," he said taking it. "I told you, I just happened to pass by," he added turning away.<br>"Still, it was fun. Hun," she pointed up a finger. "It's not just because of your bizarre clothing," Gokudera."  
>"Hayato is fine," he said placing his hat on her head. "Respect your seniors. I kind of liked these clothes you know."<p>

"You sure have a strange taste," she said holding it from its edge.  
>"I'm not going to apologize for that," he declared going ahead.<br>"Your hat..."  
>"You can keep it," he said with a gesture.<p>

The young woman looked at him blinking. Gokudera Hayato had grown taller in years, his back had become more wide, his features had become more masculine, but personality wise, he hadn't change dramatically. Seeing him like that, she sighed; it was reassuring in a weird way. She smiled and tipped the hat he gave her.

"The ride was fun, sir..." she said. "Bang!"  
>"What are you doing?" a deep voice asked behind her.<br>"Oh, big brother," she said looking at him over her shoulder.  
>"Yo!" a beaten up Yamamoto saluted.<br>"I was trying my imaginary shooting skills. Was I cool?" she asked.  
>"Not really. The opposite I would say," Hibari replied coldly.<p>

_'What's wrong with these siblings?'_ Yamamoto thought.

"You come with me," Hibari said dragging him along. "Akira, make sure to lock your door at night, as I instructed you."  
>"I know."<br>"Hold- Hibari, it hurts!" Yamamoto complained.

Meanwhile Gokudera had returned to his room and closed the door behind him taking a big breath. He had tried his best to keep his composure till the end. The whole plan was a failure, Mukuro hadn't help to the least, he had made a fool out of himself for believing in him, he had tried to act cool in a very uncool way and he had made almost no progress. Yamamoto had promised that he'd have a date by the end of the night, something which actually didn't happen; he shouldn't set his hopes high since the beginning anyway.

"What was I try to act cool for?" he asked sliding down the door. "Am I an idiot or what?"


	4. Target 4

Vongola's mansion had all the comforts everyone needed and maybe more. Tsuna, because of the strange obligation he always felt towards his friends who had accompanied and gave him their support all those years, had made great expenses in order to provide them with the best amenities. Even the guest rooms were decorated and furnished with care so anyone could feel at home. Akira couldn't help but feel amazed when she entered hers. Apart of the beautiful paintings and the classy furniture, her room had an incredible view. However, she would prefer to stay at home, it's been years since she had last set foot on her country and she had missed her very own room which was filled with memories of her childhood.

But, knowing that there was no point complaining about that, she settled in the guest room they had provided her. Her mattress was kind of stiff, sign that no one had slept on that bed for a while, but she could get used to it. She was still holding the cowboy hat when she laid on it; the spoil she got after a strange ride. She smiled softly while looking at it. Her heart had skipped a bit when he offered to take her home. Memories of the past had flowed inside her, nice memories of her childhood and adolescent days.

Suddenly her smile disappeared and she let the hat next to her with a deep sigh, "I'm not a child any more. There is no point to get my hopes up because of something like that. Still... he really hasn't changed all that much. He still knows how to create awkward moments."

She stood up, let the hat on a nearby chair and changed into her pajamas. She should enjoy her stay as much as she could; was what she had decided. Her night sleep was cushy as she had expected, her country's climate was indeed the best.

"Akira... Akira, wake up!" someone called, shaking her softly

Someone had come to interrupt that beautiful sleep and he was no other than the boss of the Cavallone familia. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the clock. It was 6 o'clock in the morning, what could he possibly want at a time like that if it wasn't something important?

"What? What happened?" she asked sitting up while rubbing her eyes.

"I convinced Tsuna to organize a morning ride. They are preparing the horses now, come and accompany me!" he said happily.

"Dino, are you sure that walking into a woman's room without permission at a time like this, for a reason like this, is the proper thing to do? You are a grown up man... and where do you think you are going still in your pajamas?" she scolded him.

He looked at his reflection in the nearby mirror slightly surprised and smiled nervously, "I was going to change later. And what's wrong with me entering your room? Stop being so uptight all the time, noone is going to pay any mind to something like this," he said messing her hair.

"Say the same thing to my brother. Maybe I should have locked the door after all," she said punching him on his stomach.

"Come on," he complained. "You're no fun sometimes."  
>"You'd be no fun if someone interrupted your sleep for something like that..." she yawned. "Anyway, I'll come. Just give me sometime to wash my face and change into my clothes."<br>"Alright!" he said and made himself comfortable on the bed.

"...You' don' t expect me to get changed while you're still in the room, do you? Not to mention that you have to get changed yourself," she said throwing a pillow right in his face.  
>"Sorry!" he cried and stoop up quickly. "Meet us at 6:30 in front of the stable."<p>

Dino exited the room still excited for the upcoming ride with his friends when he noticed the young storm guardian of the Vongola who passing by carrying a pile of documents in his hands. He closed the door behind him quietly and called out to him. Gokudera looked at him indifferently at first and it seemed that he was about to move on but then he stopped abruptly, like he had frozen. The way he turned his face towards him again was rather creepy, like a scene out of a horror movie.

"I see you are the morning type. You should take some rest, Tsuna is also worried about you," Dino commented upon Gokudera's workaholic nature and patted him on his back. "I hope you'll come with us for a ride later."  
>"Hu-uh..."<p>

The blond mafioso smiled nervously. Maybe Tsuna was right after all, Gokudera's behavior was weird in many ways. Of course that was because he didn't know what was happening inside the storm guardian's head at that moment. Leaving Dino behind him, Gokudera walked slowly to his office, more like he was hypnotized by something than walking like a normal human being. He didn't even notice Yamamoto who called out to him.

"So that's it... That's how it is," he mumbled leaving the documents on his desk. "Of course. I should have expected that... I mean. Yeah, I should have expected that..."

"Hey, Gokudera, did you turn into a zombie?" Yamamoto asked entering the office without knocking.

"Why do you care? You have no brains, so you shouldn't worry about something like that," Gokudera hissed.

"You were in such a good mood earlier, so what happened and Mr. Grumpy is back grumpier than before? I saw you talking to Dino few minutes ago. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is ok. Everything is perfect," Gokudera replied fast.  
>"Let me try again. So, is everything ok? Now you try to tell me what happened. Come on, I know you can do it," Yamamoto encouraged him.<br>"Don't talk to me like I'm five years old!" Gokudera snapped.  
>"Then try to tell me what happened like the proper adult you are!"<br>"Ok..."

Gokudera pouted and folded his arms. He took out one of his cigarettes, much to Yamamoto's displease, and sat on his office. He took a puff first, enjoyed it for a moment, shuffled his hair feeling uneasy, and then he started explaining the situation.

"I saw Dino exiting Akira's room a few minutes ago."  
>"So?"<br>"So? So? I man exits a woman's room in such an hour in his _pajamas_**, **_clearly_ excitedand that's all you can ask?"  
>"...Pretty much."<br>"Come on! Isn't it obvious? They are in a thing."  
>"No. <em>You<em> are the one jumping into conclusions. There are many other explanations. Why do you always try to see the dark side of everything? And you really have a dirty mind" Yamamoto was annoyed by his friends reaction.  
>"Wha- Hey! I'm a man! You are a man! It's normal to think something like that!" Gokudera defending himself. "I'm not as naïve as you."<p>

"I'll go ask Dino."  
>"Wait! Wait! No! That's a private matter, we have no right to pry into things," Gokudera run and blocked the door. "Are you crazy? With what excuse?"<br>"With no excuse?" Yamamoto asked blinking.  
>"No."<br>"You can't stop me as easy as you think," Yamamoto said taking a few steps back.

Seeing the baseball player ready for an attack Gokudera prepared himself mentally to take the damage as a man. There was no way he could stop Yamamoto easily but to his surprise Yamamoto just turned his back to him and seconds later he was typing something fast on his cell phone.

"Oh, hello, Dino... Yes, I know it's weird... I was just wondering you if I can accompany you to your ride. Gokudera will come with me... That's great, see you there. Tell Tsuna that we are both **so excited** about this ride...Ok. Bye."

"No, you didn't!" he hissed.

Yamamoto smiled victoriously and shook his cell phone in front of Gokudera's face. The young man got the message his friend sent him. It was not just an appointment with Dino, it was also a promise to his boss, therefore there was no way out. He should accept his utter defeat, recognize Yamamoto's clever attack and follow him even though he didn't want to. The pile of documents on his office were already calling for him and he had to go horse riding?

"I'm going anyway," Yamamoto said.  
>"I'll go too," Gokudera mumbled.<br>"What? I didn't hear you."  
>"I said, I'll go too!"<br>"That's great! I'm so glad you're _so_ enthusiastic about this!"  
>"Sneaky bastard," Gokudera murmured and followed him outside.<p>

And that's how he ended up riding a horse early in the morning instead of being in his office, doing what he knew to do best; working. He was frustrated, that damned baseball idiot, not only had he forced him into that mess, but he also dared to ignore him completely and engage into a conversation with Haru instead. So much for a friend!

Horse riding was never his thing, that made his mood even worse. He would really prefer to ride his motorbike for a change of pace. That always made him relax. Even the thought that he was depending on a animal made him nervous; that should be obvious to the rest of the party by the way the storm guardian was holding the reins. His horse suddenly stopped and shook his mane. Gokudera waited for a couple of minutes but the horse showed no intention to move again.

"What's with you, stupid horse?" he asked leaning forward. "Oh, come on! Move... What's with you?"

The others had already left him behind. He sighed deeply and decided to get down and walk on foot. However, his horse seemed to have other plans. It started to move again with no warning and surprised as he was, he lost his balance. He was lucky that he was still holding the reins, not that he was helping much in that situation. His foot had tangled up in the saddle's stirrups and he was screaming out loud with his face only a few centimeters above the ground. His horse passed the rest of the company running really loud.

"Nice acrobatics!" Yamamoto laughed.

"Hayato... animals clearly hate you, don't they?" Tsuna smiled nervously.

"Tenth, don't worry! I'm fine!" the young guardian yelled from afar.

"It doesn't seem that way to me," Tsuna smiled nervously.

"It seems that he is already creating a bond with his horse. I didn't expect that he would go to that extreme. Look how much he enjoys it," Dino smiled brightly. "Don't you think so, Akira?"

"_No, he doesn't enjoys it at all,"_ Tsuna thought.

"Huh...uh..."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that the young woman didn't enjoy it at all either. She wasn't moving at all, her hands were clinging tightly to the reins and her eyes were fixated on a tree in front of her. She was really nervous! Anybody could see that, well at least Tsuna could.

"I didn't know that you had it in you, Gokudera! Ride the horse upside-down to the extreme!" Ryohei shouted out loud completely excited and mimicked Gokudera's stance.

"No, big brother, that's... nevermind..." Tsuna knew that any attempt to stop him would be pointless.

Not long after, Ryohei's horse throw him off his back causing him to crash into Gokudera. Gokudera panicked for a moment, but his good luck helped him. The saddle's came loose and they both fall hard on the ground while his horse continued his rally. The storm guardian grimaced from the pain. His right foot was hurting. He could withstand pain of course, that was nothing before the pain he had experienced during his battles.

"Moron!" he shouted.  
>"That was extreme! Let's do it again!" Ryohei, ignoring him completely, was all fired up.<br>"Who would like to do that twice?" Gokudera mumbled and tried to stand up.

But, he wasn't able to. In fact, surprised that he could hardly feel his right leg, he didn't manage to hold onto something and loosing his balance he fall on the ground again, this time face down. Embarrassed by his weakness and the scene the let them see, plus the fact that Yamamoto was laughing shamelessly, he could not find the courage to try to stand up again afraid that his next attempt would also fail. With his fists balled, he lift up his head and slightly grunted.

"What's so funny, baseball mutt?"

"Nah... Well... That was... don't mind me," Yamamoto couldn't stop laughing.

"Are you alright, Gokudera?" Tsuna asked worried and got down from his horse checking his friend leg. "I guess its sprained."

Dino followed his example and they both helped him to stand up despite his protests. His face had turned red. Inside him he was feeling a great need to swear and he was barely keeping himself from doing it. He should never go horse riding in the first place. Yamamoto and his great ideas were always causing him trouble; he should keep that in mind for the next time and learn from his mishaps.

"I'm not sure if we should let him ride the horse in his condition," Tsuna said.

"I think it'll be alright. I can hold the reins in order to prevent similar accidents," Dino reassured him.

"I'm not getting on that horse ever again! He tried to kill me!"  
>"Ness is not that bad!" Dino protested.<br>"He tried to kill me!"

"Don't even try, Dino," Tsuna smiled nervously. "There is no way he'll change his mind."

"He can ride with me then," Dino offered.

"That would be weird," Yamamoto interfered. "Why don't you let him ride with Akira?" he suggested pointing at the young woman.

"That could work too," Tsuna said and looked at Dino for approval.

"If they don't mind," Dino replied.

"_What are you doing, Yamamoto?" _the young storm guardian looked at his friend with his eyes rolled. _"What am I supposed to do in this kind of situation?"_

"Akira!" Dino called.

"Lucky you," Yamamoto laughed and Tsuna gave him a weird look.

"I swear, I'll kill you one day," Gokudera mumbled.

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a really long time. I wonder if I should call my lazyness "writer's block". It is a fact that that I'm not really pleased with the outcome though. I should try harder next time. <strong>

**Thanks for keeping up with this story and sorry for my grammar and spelling. **


	5. Target 5

Horse riding was supposed to make you feel free and give you a great sensation accompanied by a feeling of accomplishment and being in control. But she could feel none of these. The idea of trusting her physical integrity on this weird animal scared her a bit and made her feel weak. She was trying to hide her nervousness and the fact that she was under the impression that that particular horse she was riding could smell her fear. To make matters worse, a young man ended up riding that horse with her, a man who was as bad with horses as she was. Forget all those romantic scenes on a white horse she had seen in fairy tales and movies over the years, it was more like she was a protagonist in a horror story.

"So you can ride a tiger but you can't ride a horse!" Ryohei noted.  
>"For he millionth time, Uri is damn leopard!" Gokudera snapped.<br>"Well, he doesn't call him giant cat anymore, so you could call that an improvement," Tsuna compromised, adapting into the situation completely.  
>"How is that normal, boss?" his right hand man protested.<p>

"_I want to go home already,"_ she thought as her nervousness grew bigger minute by minute. _"At this point I wouldn't even care even if Tenth was 'Oh Red', so what's with the pointless conversation?"_

Admitting that you don't like horses in front of renowned mafia members would be humiliating. Those embarrassing thoughts had been already enough to make her feel like a pathetic excuse for an adult, but she couldn't help but feel relieved when they reached the small chalet Kyoko was so excited to see. According to her, its construction had ended about a week ago. By then, almost everything was in place.

"I was not informed about this…" she heard the man behind her mumble. "Tenth, we were not supposed to come here yet," he sniveled. "According to the reports-"  
>"I'm ware of that, Gokudera," Tsuna interrupted him. "I wanted Kyoko to see this as soon as possible. Dino is here as well and I thought that it was a great opportunity for an outing. I knew that you would be against this, thus I did not inform you beforehand."<br>"That's… I understand, I'm sorry," he lowered is head apologetically.  
>"What's with you? You just realized where we were going?" Yamamoto asked surprised.<br>"I was in charge of the budget and the coordination of the project,but I was giving orders via my computer, I hadn't actually set foot here myself until now," he explained.  
>"And that's what happens when you want to be in charge of everything," Yamamoto sighed. "Don't take it to heart. Remember that the only reason Tsuna didn't consult with you about it is because you are always so uptight. He really wanted you to have fun along with everyone else," he felt obliged to mention before he follows the rest inside.<p>

In silence, she looked at his face with the corners of her eyes, in a situation that could not be more awkward. His lips parted, but just like that, without words he drowned his remorse along with his umbrage in a tight, horrid smile. Gokudera had passed with flying colors into adulthood, he was what everyone would call a proper, trustworthy adult, nonetheless all these years hadn't brought any major changes in his personality, but some people would say that he was impossible to handle from the start so that didn't really matter.

"If you wanted to say something, you should have said it," she pried into the matter.  
>"What do you mean?" he asked almost offended. "I was obviously at fault here. A right hand man should be on the same wavelength with his boss. In this case I failed miserably to understand his wish and his intentions, I have no right to complain," he added and nodded to himself after a small pause – as if he was affirming that he had replied properly - while he was getting down the horse.<br>"That's a pathetic answer," she uttered.  
>"Excuse me?" he huffed.<br>"It takes many weeks and hours to plan a project. No matter the reason, I would feel offended if someone hadn't consulted me first for something I was directly involved. If you really respect your boss, shouldn't you voice your objections properly instead of keeping them for yourself?"  
>"Don't assume things as you like. Isn't that just your point of view? Don't try to force your opinion on others!" he said flushed, turned his back to her and walked away hastily, murmuring between his pants.<br>"I didn't try to force anything on anyone though," she got down and pet the horse beside her rather stunned by his last words.

Maybe she shouldn't have voiced her thoughts, but she didn't regret it by any means. She felt only a bit of guilt for enjoying the moment as he recalled the last face he made and covered her mouth to hide a wrapped smile as she felt the heat rising to her face and snorted at her own self for secretly thinking that it was almost cute. Had he stayed longer there with such a flustered face, she didn't know if she would be able to hold back any unnecessary comments.

She soon realized that she should soon join the others. Of course, nothing pleased her more than the fact that she could finally part with her not-so-beloved animal. The rest of them had already made themselves comfortable on the porch after a short tour around the house where their belongings had already been delivered. Gokudera was already there, pesting Yamamoto to follow him using a strange amount of enthusiasm after their boss suggested that everyone should savor their free time as they pleased and not follow a specific scheclude. It was supposed to be a chance for everyone to relax and let off some steam. She shook her head in sympathy witnessing Yamamoto's dismay growing bigger with every step he was making. From the looks of it someone's plans were utterly wrecked by Gokudera's stubbornness. By that time she was confident that he would do anything possible in order to avoid her.

And so he did. The storm guardian managed to stay on guard even when it wasn't necessary and kept himself very busy by being extra thoughtful and helpful than he already was. She even wondered if she should consider that extra effort he put as a sole purpose to avoid her rude or a simple mean of psychological defense.

Thus, she didn't manage to approach him until the next morning when she woke up feeling refreshed by the serene atmosphere of the woods and went to the porch from some sloppy morning stretches. Much to her surprise, she saw the young guardian asleep on a pile of lumber. An opened book was lying on his chest, a beautiful edition of "Kokoro". He had managed to read about half before he falls into Morpheus arms. She leaned over him and watched him as he was sleeping. His gray hair had stuck on his forehead because of the morning dew. Holding back a sudden desire to touch them, her fingertips felt the hard cover of the book instead and she slowly removed it from his hands. But even that light movement was enough to wake him up. As expected from a man who grew up and flourished in the mafia world, she thought, as his hands wrapped around her neck.

Only then she realized how reckless she was. She found her self tumbled to the ground, unable to react, his weight against her chest. And the difference between someone who was just trained in martial arts and someone who had learned to react on his instinct in order to survive was never clearer. Self defense classes had no use in this kind of situation. Even for someone who had learnt to sustain a fair amount of apathy, a weird mix of confused emotions were showing vividly through her face.

However, the man in front of was in an a worse emotional state. Perplexed by the awkward moment he had put himself in, he stood there motionless, trying to regain his composure and analyze the situation. His grip relaxed and he pulled his hands back trembling. His hostile aura was soon replaced by a doleful expression. Evidently, that man was more scared than the woman on the ground. It wasn't the first time he had reacted like that, and neither then not now he knew how to apologize enough to the person in front of him and that scared him the most. He just stood there on his knees, trying to form some words like a newborn child and in the end the only thing he managed to do was to cringe, hiding his face from embarrassment .

"I'm sorry… I didn't want to do that…" he breathed.  
>"For someone who was avoiding me for a whole day," she quipped coughing. "You closed the distance between us pretty fast."<br>"I wasn't trying to avoid anyone!"  
>"Well, you did a pretty good job to give that impression for someone who wasn't trying at all," she laughed.<br>"It's not a laughing matter," he hissed. "Anyway, I'm willing to make it up to you, so let me know if there is something I can do for you," he declared decisively.

She looked at him surprised by his naïve approach. She hugged her knees and rested her chin. She titled her head to one side and a soft smile formed on her lips.

"You shouldn't make promises like this one," she noted.  
>"It's not a promise, it's a duty," he corrected though. "If I can do something…"<br>"Then, would you go out with me?"  
>"What?" he was taken aback by her question.<br>"Would you go out with me if I asked you to?"  
>"I suppose you are joking!" he scowled. "You shouldn't request something like this without consideration.. and… it's rude... and rush and…" he shuttered.<br>"Aren't you the rude one here?" she asked calmly. "Trying to show consideration when you didn't even hesitate to avoid someone for vague reasons?"  
>"As a man, I-"<br>"Then as a man, would you go out with me?" she asked looking straight at him. "Shouldn't you take into consideration that I might not jest at all?"

He stood up flustered. He couldn't find the words to give a proper reply, he wasn't able to evaluate the situation either. Lost in his own selfish thoughts and petty lead role in ludicrous romance about sorrowful one-sided love, he didn't notice that he hardly knew anything about the girl in front of him. Was she serious or it was a twisted way to test him? Gokudera panicked, more than he could ever imagine, in a situation where he should normally be overjoyed and all he could come out with before he walks away rubbing his nose was "I'm sorry".

She crossed her legs watching him leave. Soon the rest of the company would wake up and they would pretend than nothing happened, she was sure of that. She felt more exhausted than she thought. Somebody told her once that her admired people who were set to confess and their mentality, she could tell why. She knew though that it was just as hard to reject someone properly. So, she couldn't accept it, that kind of incompetent behavior.

"I guess that's what they call a bad ending…" she huffed and laid on the ground resting on a pile of falling leaves.


End file.
